Essay Questions

What is implied by the title "They Cage the Animals at Night?” of Jennings Michael Burch's autobiography?

"They Cage the Animals at Night" is a Jennings Michael Burch's 1984 autobiographical book retelling of the writer's youth encounters in being constantly housed in and moved among foster homes, orphanages, and different institutions, starting when he was just eight years of age. The utilization of that specific expression for the title establishes the disheartening pace of a book that really contains some positive, moving pictures of people who helped the young boy as he grew, in spite of the horrid disappointments of the "system" in which he was set.

It is an obvious fact that conditions inside orphanages can be dreary, just as inside some foster homes – at any rate in the instances of temporary parents who moved toward their circumstance in simply monetary terms and gave practically no enthusiastic help to the children placed in their charge. Thusly, night time, when murkiness replaces light, and depression increases, can be an unnerving time of every day for these children.

The title of the memoir, "They Cage the Animals at Night," originates from an exchange youthful Jennings had with one specific religious woman in one of the orphanages in which he was set. In answer to the child's inquiries with respect to the treatment of creatures – in actuality, why they are put in cages - she reacts: “Well…We don’t want to, Jennings, but we have to. You see the animals that are given to us we have to take off. If we didn’t cage them up in one place, we might lose them; they might get hurt or damaged. It’s not the best thing, but it’s the only way we have to take care of them.”

It is totally likely that Jennings is utilizing the story of the treatment of the creatures as a similitude for the encounters of the children placed in orphanages. Similarly likewise with the destitute creatures, the stranded children must be kept bolted up around night to counteract the loss of any of them, and make preparations for damage. It is a dreary presence, exacerbated far when put in institutions or with families for which his satisfaction and welfare were reconsiderations.

What are the numbers given to Jennings during his stay at the foster homes?

The numbers given to Jennings during his stay at the foster homes is fairly simple: 12, 17, and 27. These numbers, although, require a touch of clarification. Jennings is placed in a significant number diverse group homes and foster homes. Huge numbers of these spots give Jennings a number so as to recognize him. In the primary group home, Jennings number is 27.

It can be seen that Jennings following that specific number for some time. For instance he lifts "the pair of pajamas off of the hook number twenty-seven" and rapidly starts to recognize himself as that number rather than by his name which uncovers his genuine personality. Truth be told, Jennings even alludes to himself as the number when addressing different children. The passage given below is taken from the novel to illustrate his attitude.

"Who are you?" A voice jolted me. There were four boys standing around me. ... "Twenty-seven," I said without thinking. They roared with laughter before I could correct myself. "Jennings. My name is Jennings," I said over their laughter.

Here it can be perceived how significant it is for an individual (and particularly a child) to keep understanding their own character in any event, when the person in question is eluded to just as a number. Contingent upon the group home or foster home Jennings discovers him in; he is constantly alluded to as number twelve, seventeen, or twenty-seven. It is an approach to organize the children in the homes, yet it is likewise an approach to make them feel immaterial and insignificant.